


Soul Mate

by MezMoriah



Series: DantexLady Week (Month) [2]
Category: Devil May Cry
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-19
Updated: 2018-12-19
Packaged: 2019-09-22 18:03:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,682
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17064497
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MezMoriah/pseuds/MezMoriah
Summary: My second entry for DantexLady week(month)! Just Dante and Lady being cute with a Christmas theme!





	Soul Mate

Lady pushed the stepladder past the front door, her arms overflowing with garland and strings of multicolored lights. She hummed alone to “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” as it played from her phone in her back pocket. She only had one more section of the office to cover with the garland before she could finally move on to her favorite part of decorating: the Christmas tree. She had a ton of ornaments (even after decorating her own in her apartment) from years of collecting them, and she loved hanging them from the pine branches and between the twinkling lights. Climbing up to place the star on top. 

It had taken days to convince Dante to allow her to decorate the shop. Unlike Lady, who loved the holiday season despite her past, the half demon hated Christmas. Most holidays, she had come to find. They reminded him of the family he lost, and he just preferred to not celebrate them as much as he could. He would indulge Lady and Trish once in a while with dinner together and gift swapping, but this was the furthest he had ever allowed for the celebration. She didn’t know if it was the promise of lowering his debt a smidge, a week of pizza on her, and a few bottles of his favorite whiskey that finally convinced him, or if he just tired of her begging and constant nagging about how the festive decorations would bring in more clients had finally worn him down. Either way, she was happy with the outcome, even if it would cost her a bit of money. It would help Dante in the long run as well, make him a little bit less of a grump during the season. 

“You know, Patty will really like this, too,” she said as she mounted the stepladder. Reaching all the way through her fingertips and shifting to her tiptoes, she hung the first bit of garland. She could feel Dante’s gaze on her back—most likely her backside—as she stretched on the rickety ladder, though she knew it was for more than simply appeasing his perverted nature; he was making sure she didn’t fall. She knew asking him to help was out of the question, and he hadn’t offered either. But, she knew he wouldn’t let her get hurt. “Christmas is her favorite, if I remember right.” 

“As long as it ain’t pink and frilly shit like she pulled when she first came around, I’ll live with it,” Dante responded. Lady heard the squeak of rubber as he shifted on the couch, the rustle of the pages as he rifled through his magazine. “But don’t start thinking I’m thrilled with this. It’s all pointless to me.” 

Lady rolled her eyes and shook her head. “You seemed to be into the season when you were chasing me around with mistletoe, jackass,” she shot back. She had had to hide it to keep him from trying anything funny with it. The threat of making him wear a Santa suit nipped that in the bud quick, at least. “Can’t you just enjoy it? A little? And not by getting shit faced so you don’t remember or really enjoy it anyway?” 

When she received no more response than a grunt, Lady returned back to her work. As she twisted the lights into the perfect position around the garland, she was reminded of decorating their home when she was a kid. Her mother had loved the holiday season. From Thanksgiving to New Years, the house was full of the sounds and smells of the season and decorated from top to bottom, inside and out, with lights, garland, tinsel, fake snow and, her favorite, the giant evergreen that glowed in their dining room. She remembered baking all sorts of cakes and cookies with her mom, decorating them with candy and icing. She could feel the warmth of the fireplace as they read stories together, Kalina Ann doing voices for each of the holiday characters. 

Then her mind wandered to what she wished she had. Her own kids to bake and sing and read with in a cozy home. She wanted to decorate a tree with her kids, curl up on the couch with and watch as the children played with their new toys. 

She paused at the last thought, bicolored eyes drifting to the man sprawled across the couch. Though she had spent years trying to deny it, Lady could never squelch her feelings for her fellow devil hunter. They had discussed their feelings on relationships before (even though she refused to let him know it was him she pined for), and they both agreed that their lifestyle was far too dangerous for any serious relationships. Thus, they both kept things casual. Dante moreso than herself, much to her chagrin. 

Lady knew their connection was deeper. It had been fate that they met. They were meant for each other. But, she knew if she ever said anything, Dante would turn her down. She could respect how he felt; it was reasonable because he had a target on his back due to his heritage, and demons with a beef would use someone he loved to their advantage. That didn’t stop her heart burning with a desire to change his mind. To find out if he even felt the same about her. 

Lady chewed her lip as she twisted a blue bulb between her fingers. The strand flickered on and off. “Hey, Dante?” 

“Yeah?” She heard him sit up, leather crunching underneath him. 

“Do you believe in soul mates?” 

She refused to look and kept busy, but she heard him chuckle. “What? You tellin’ me you got a crush on me?” 

Lady’s cheeks heated up in a fierce blush. “No!” she asserted, a little too quickly. “Don’t be stupid. It’s a serious question.” 

A long silence fell between them, one that made Lady squirm inwardly. Her fingers worked faster and fumbled with the hooks. She just couldn’t keep her mouth shut. Now he knew exactly what she was getting at and their whole relationship, their whole dynamic, would suffer. 

She hung the last bit of garland. “Sorry...” she muttered, descending her stepladder as fast as she could without toppling backward. It took everything in her not to sprint out the door without her things. Ditch before things got worse. “I’ll just leave the tree for you, or maybe Patty if she wants to--” 

“Wait.” 

Lady closed her eyes and cursed under her breath. He really couldn’t just let her leave? Pretend she had never asked? 

She turned to face him. The amusement at her expense she expected to see in his eyes was absent. His expression was thoughtful. It slowed the beating of her heart a fraction, but her palms were still clammy with sweat. 

Dante stood and crossed the room to her, boots thudding on the wood floor. He stopped in front of her. Normally, his height didn’t bother her. But, now, as he towered over her, she felt like an ant that he was ready to step on. She tilted her head back to meet his gaze. Those beautiful, ice blue eyes she had gazed into many times, both in real life and in her dreams. In fact, a few of the steamier ones had started quite like this and...no, she couldn’t let her mind wander there. God, she was as bad as Dante! 

“I dunno about soul mates. That all sounds like a fairy tale to me. And my life is the furthest thing from that.” Dante paused, and Lady could see him trying to work out the right words. He threaded his fingers through his white locks a muttered a few curses under his breath. Just when she wanted to shout at him to get on with him, he spoke again. 

“I do know that I don’t know where I'd be if I hadn’t met you.” A smile worked its way onto his lips and he tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “I was a mess before what happened with Verg, and if you hadn’t been here I may have just...you know.” 

“Dante, don’t say that.” Lady grabbed his hand and squeezed it. She knew how hard it was. For both of them. It wasn’t that she didn’t get it; she felt much the same about him. Had he not been there to preoccupy her and keep her company when she needed it most, she might have ended it all herself. Even if they would never be more than business partners or friends as a suppressed part of her hoped, Dante had become something like family. She knew he would be there for her when she needed someone, and she would do the same for him. 

“It’s the truth though,” he said, resting his hands on her shoulders. “I had no real direction back then. Yeah, I had sorta started the business, but you really helped me get it goin’. You’ve done a lot for me, Lady. I dunno if that means you’re my soul mate, but I know I don’t want to be without you in my life.” 

A lump formed in Lady’s throat and tears stung her eyes. So, it wasn’t an admission of love but for Dante, she figured that was as close as she would get for now. She bit her lip and flung her arms around his neck, shifting onto her tiptoes to hug him. His chest rumbled as he chuckled and returned her embrace. 

“I don’t want to be without you either, Dante. Couldn’t.” 

Dante held her a bit longer, and just when his heat about put her to sleep in his arms, he pulled away. “And you won’t be. For as long as I can help it.” He raised her hands to his lips and pressed a kiss to it. “Now, how about we get this tree put up? It’s your favorite part of all this, isn’t it?” 

Lady nodded, wiping her eyes with her sleeve. “Yeah. Just make sure you don’t mess it up, okay?”


End file.
